Courtrooms Going Wireless in £160m Attempt to Eradicate Paperwork

The next time you're hauled up in front of local magistrates for not paying your council tax or setting fire to your peanuts, the judges may be looking a little more distracted than usual thanks to plans to digitise the UK's courtrooms.

The plan, which should end up costing some £160m, will see secure Wi-Fi connections installed in all courts, so judges and lawyers can access all their important files remotely. More importantly, it should put an end to cases being disrupted or delayed due to missing paperwork, although we suspect they're likely to be replaced by new 21st Century delays caused by forgotten passwords, crashed routers and unskilled workmen digging through cables in Croydon.

Justice Minister Damian Green said: "This investment will help us get rid of our outdated paper-based system, and turn our criminal justice system into a digital and modern public service." [BBC]